Closed care home in Hopton could become site for holiday accommodation

The Old Vicarage Care Home, Hopton.
The Old Vicarage Care Home, Hopton.
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The site of a former care home, which closed after a damning report revealed residents' safety had been compromised, is set to take on a new purpose as the home of static holiday caravans.

Eastern Daily Press: The Old Vicarage Care Home, Hopton.The Old Vicarage Care Home, Hopton.

The Old Vicarage in Warren Road, Hopton, closed in 2014 following a string of unannounced inspections by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Now, a planning application has been submitted to change the use of the site to allow the siting of static holiday caravans and all the associated infrastructure.

In 2013, the CQC ordered the owners of the Old Vicarage - Estateband Ltd - to improve standards after an inspection found it was not up to scratch. But further unannounced inspections last year, on October 30 and November 11, found that improvements had not been made and as a result, the health watchdog branded the home inadequate and cancelled the owners registration.

After the closure of the home, another CQC report revealed that the home was breaching the Health and Social Care Act.

'People's safety was compromised in a number of areas,' the report detailed.

'Staff knew they needed to report any concerns about abuse. However, allegations were not always properly responded to and there had eben instances of neglect.'

At the time, there were concerns that the manager was not registered and that 'inadequate' measures were in place to prevent infections and medicines were not always administered in line with GP's instructions.

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